A Matter of Small Differences
by wordbearer
Summary: During Aftershock part 1, Terra took an all or nothing aproach in angering Raven, what would have happened if Terra screwed up? Continues into Season Three. AU
1. A Matter of Small Differences

Everyone know what alternate history is? In case you don't, alternate history is when some major point (called a node) goes one way instead of another. Examples include, Kennedy surviving the assassination attempt in Dallas or Hitler winning WWII. While watching Aftershock part 1, I saw such a node point for the Titan's universe. Terra goes all cocky, gets Raven mad, and then takes advantage of the dark mystic's distraction to pull her down into the mud where she somehow avoided drowning... That was an all or nothing ploy for the evil blonde. 'Daemon' Raven may be sloppy, but she is mind numbingly powerful and viscous. If Terra had screwed up there (and Raven was throwing a lot of stuff at her) she would have been, well, I'll let you find out what I think would have happened. Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans in any way shape or form. That honor belongs to someone at Cartoon Network and I have no intent of challenging that person. I don't seek to make a profit from this and hope that this doesn't get me sued... Please enjoy! We're picking up just as Terra finishes taunting Raven while dragging her down into the mud.

A Matter of Small Differences

By Wordbearer

"What hurt the most, Rae? That I tricked you? Almost destroyed your house? Or was it that deep down, you really trusted me?" Terra finished speaking and wore a smug look on her narrow face as she looked down at Raven. Raven was buried up to her waist in mud and a stony shell was creeping up her shoulders. Her head was bowed in apparent defeat, her eyes tightly closed. The blonde thought she saw a tear trickling down the dark mystic's mud-caked checks when it happened. Raven's eyes snapped open and these weren't the azure orbs that reflected the world with unhuman calm. These were four flame filled slits that looked at the world as something to be eaten or destroyed. Terra jumped back onto her stony platform and ripped loose a piece to ride up and back from her telescoping foe. Raven's cloaked swelled until she towered ten feet in the air, her black aura flaring like a bonfire. Her short hair stood aloft from her head as four angry eyes locked onto the retreating blonde.

Raven bellowed, "I trusted you! We trusted you!" Terra had to focus on dodging the barrage of razor edged steel objects hurled at her by the enraged telekinetic.

Not pausing a second, Raven added, "We gave you everything and you treated us like dirt!" Ripping a three ton computer processor from the wall, Raven accidentally tripped a circuit breaker. Terra barely dodged the massive projectile when the breaker overloaded, filling the room with static. Slade's transceiver squealed in her ear, distracting her from her surroundings for a fatal instant. Terra failed to notice the length of fencing that hurled itself at her from behind with all the speed and grace of an unfolding snake. Raven rushed forward, the mud boiling and freezing in her wake as Terra tripped and fell into the mud face first. Something in Raven's mind howled at her to tear this treacherous weakling apart and she was in full agreement with this Trigonian urge for once. Terra spat mud out of her mouth and looked up in time to see the hem of her foe's writhing cloak open up like a hungry maw. Terra gazed in fear at the ebony void within as she was pulled inside by living folds of cloth that that erupted from the mud around her.

Raven's blazing eyes flared in malevolent joy as she engulfed Terra and allowed a feral grin to dominate her face. She ripped metal from the walls and mud from the floor into a whirling hurricane for the destructive pleasure of it. Raven towered at the heart of the storm, her anger assuaged as she vented. Realization hit home as she thought about what she was doing. The contrite dark mystic shrank down to her normal petite proportions. Terra's huddled form was revealed as Raven's cloak withdrew. The blonde was horrifically ravaged. The metal of her uniform was both melted and frozen. Her flesh stained white with frostbite and lacerated by a thousand cuts. Terra's blonde hair was brittle and locks snapped off as she shivered in the mud. Terra's blue eyes which had blazed contempt at Raven a minute earlier, now gazed at nothing with cataract laced pupils.

Raven thought to herself, "Terra may have been an enemy and a traitor, but no one deserved to face the kinds of horrors my powers can unleash when I give into my anger." Sighing, the dark mystic knelt next to Terra.

Hands shaking with exhaustion and a sense of guilt that she didn't let into her eyes, Raven reached for Terra with white glowing hands and intent on undoing some of the damaged she had done. Terra's form crackled with black and gold energy, not reacting as Raven began her possibly futile efforts of healing. The dark mystic's erratic empathic abilities kicked in as she touched her fallen opponent. Raven slipped into a trance as she experienced first hand the horrors Terra had gone through under her cloak. The darkness was suffocating, cold, and pressing all around her. What felt like old blood dripped onto her body from above, as bird cries echoed all around her. She cried out in terror as she began to fall and ebony waves of power cut through her body. Burning and freezing, the waves slit her skin like expertly wielded razors. The sensation was like nothing she had ever experienced and she screamed into the hungry darkness as the barrage of cold blades engulfed her and she crumpled into the fetal position. She prayed that the fall would end and kill her...

Raven ripped herself away from Terra, breathing heavy from the raw impact of the vision, and stumbled over a submerged object in the mud onto her butt. Objects danced in the air, borne up by black bubbles of power before she got control of herself. Her eyes flickered ruefully as she set about her task once more, careful to control her empathic senses this time. She set her face like stone as she worked, trying to not let the multitudinous nature of Terra's wounds get to her. Raven left as soon as the authorities arrived.

Mud flaking from her cloak as she walked out of the vault, she could hear the officer say, "Captain Kaiper to HQ. I need a med-team ASAP. Wounded suspect has multiple serious wounds..." The door slipped shut and cut off the captain's voice as Raven made for the exit.

Raven landed near the base of Titans Tower and leaned against the wall in exhaustion. Prolonged levitation was more of a drain than she let on and she was not in the most stable of moods after what she had gone through. Calming herself, she entered the tower and made her way directly to the main hall. As she approached, Raven could hear Cyborg excitedly exclaim to his teammates as they clustered around the counter.

"So we have Plasmus against the ropes, wheezing through that gaping hole he calls a mouth when Beastboy goes ox and sends the brute...." Cyborg trailed off and picked up again as he caught sight of the mud-drenched telekinetic entering the room.

"Hey, Raven. How did it go with Overload?"

Robin added, "I'm officially curious too, as you didn't report in on time."

"Stellar. Things went great." Her voice was a sardonic monotone and Robin quirked an eyebrow in return.

Noticing something, the boy wonder asked, "Why are you covered in mud? Overload was supposed to be attacking a vault indoors."

Her answer was curt and severe, "The mud was courtesy of Terra. She showed up after I had subdued Overload and she was the hard part of the fight this evening."

This response locked every Titan's eye on her. Raven didn't outwardly react, but she braced herself for the barrage of queries that should soon follow. The others' eyes begged answers, yet the dark mystic held her silence.

Starfire was the first to speak, "Friend Raven, please tell us what happened. Since you are reasonably unharmed, I assume you were victorious over the foul Xen'trop Guani'ek." Beastboy looked hurt at the alien's perceived insult.

Raven spoke aloud, "I won; in fact you cold say that Terra won't be a problem anymore."

"That was an understatement on your part," Raven chided herself.

Beastboy blurted out in a high tone, "What happened? What did you do to Terra?" Hurt flickered in the depths of Raven's eyes along with black guilt for an endless moment. She swallowed lightly, eyes darting from face to face in an uncharacteristic display of nervousness.

Her response was low and carefully free of emotion, "I lost control, gave into my anger. Terra went under my cloak and came out like Dr. Light." Various looks of anger, horror and, for Robin, thoughtful reflection crossed the Titan's faces as they remembered the shattered condition of the formerly arrogant villain.

With this Raven turned to go, seeking some solitude to sort this out alone. She was about to walk through the door when she was stopped by Starfire's hand on her shoulder. The others had hung back. The dark mystic looked up at Starfire with eyes that bled with repressed distress.

The alien insistently said, "Raven. It is clear that you are upset and left much out of your story. Please just..." She faltered as Raven stared at her and the other tore herself loose from Starfire's grip with as much a look of panic as any of the Titan's had ever seen.

Raven murmured to herself as the door closed, "I need to be alone."

Cyborg said, "Either she's pretty upset about this or I'm a worse judge of people's character than Jerry Springer."

Robin added, "There's a lot she didn't tell us. If Terra pushed her to unleash her anger, it must have been an ugly fight."

Beastboy sighed in response, "Yeah. I can see that now." Cyborg, Robin, and Starfire gave him a funny look, prompting the changeling to get onto another subject than Raven.

"I just hope Terra's ok. We should find out where they took her for treatment."

Shaking his head decisively as he spoke, Robin added, "Tomorrow. It's been a long day for all of us. We'll bring it up tomorrow at breakfast." The others nodded reluctant agreement.

Terra lay on a hospital bed across town. Her blond hair was shaved off and the places where her body armor had been cut away from her flesh bandaged. The walls were padded to insulate her from all sound. The beeping of her heart monitor was enough to make her shiver with fear, her blind eyes darting around the room in paranoid search for threats. Her mind replayed memories like a broken record: sharing pizza with the Titan's training with Slade in an abandoned quarry as he shouted instructions, holding the Tower up alongside Raven with twin pillars of gold and black power, entering the password and deactivating Cyborg's security the night of her betrayal, a thousand memories of trust and deceit danced in front of her mind's eye. She stole of moment of lucidity from the madness, a tear welling up as she grieved what might have been. No friendship, for the Titan's would see her as another defeated enemy. No glory, for Slade would see her as a broken tool, unworthy of his attention. She was alone. The tear left a glistening trail down her bandage swathed check as Terra's fear-ravaged mind slipped into madness once more. Sleep eluded her desperate grasp, leaving her alone with her daemons in the dark.

So you made it down here. What did you think? Good? Bad? Don't care one way or the other? If you see fit, leave a review and tell me what you think. Before, anyone asks, I don't hate Terra, she was just a wasted character that needed to go down one way or the other... (shrugs) Thank you for your time.


	2. Shadow of a Fallen Angel

Chapter 2 of my second TT fan fiction piece. Still same scenario, just latter that evening at Titans Tower. If you like this stuff, go to my other piece to get a look at what a finished Raven pseudo-epic ala Wordbearer is without three week pauses between chapters... Enough self plugging on my part, it's just plain rude. In any event, here we go with chapter2. One more thing: I don't own Teen Titans in any way shape or form. That honor belongs to someone at Cartoon Network and I have no intent of challenging that person! I don't sek to make any money from this and hope this doesn't get me sued... On with the show!

Shadows of a Fallen Angel

By Wordbearer

Raven stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel about her dripping body. The air was thick with steam despite the quiet hum of the fan in the background. She hated dirt with a silent ferocity and it marginally soothed her to get the mud off of her body. She looked back at the shower and grimaced; the walls were stained with mud. The dark mystic didn't like the way the drain sounded either. The sight reminded her of the way Terra had left the room during her visit. Raven forced the thought down with instinctive discipline and set about drying her wet hair which hung like a pair of limp snakes about her face. Eventually satisfied with the dryness of her hair, she combed it with even stokes in front of the mirror.

Raven paused midstroke and tilted her head at the reflection in the mirror. A heart shaped face dominated by a pair of blue eyes gazed back at her. She blinked as the light caught the blood red chakra embedded in her forehead. Her slight mouth pierced as she reflected on the smooth gray tone of her skin. The ashen shade contrasted starkly with her indigo hair. Raven shock her head slightly at her self absorption and continued to comb her hair. She continued to sneak glimpses at her reflection as she worked however...

It was at this point that a deep, arrogant voice spoke in the dark mystic's ear. "Gazing at yourself in mirrors? I had thought that those weakling Azarathian monks had broken you of all such indulgences. There may be hope for you yet daughter..." The all pervading sense of familiar wrongness that colored her senses gave her all the clues she needed to identify the speaker.

Not bothering to look around the bathroom, Raven spoke softly to herself, "Father." Trigon the Terrible laughed darkly from his abysmal prison and Raven knew that his voice was only in her head. She was angry at this casual violation, yet she held her energies in check.

Trigon spoke again, "Now, now, Raven. Is that anyway for a child to speak to a concerned parent? I felt your soul flicker and flare earlier even from the Abyss where I dwell. I come because I was concerned about your wellbeing."

Raven grimaced to herself as she spoke, "I could do without your false concern. Just leave me alone."

Amusement rippled through Trigon's response, "You did have a close call tonight, my scion! You are normally not this easy to rile up. I want to find out what happened..."

Raven dropped to her knees as her father rustled through her memories as easily as she would turn pages in a book. The sensation burned and her aura flared in response to the tightly suppressed agony. Her features tightened and twitched in pain, yet she held her silence. Raven fought to keep the energy in check by continually murmuring her mantra.

This surreal tableau held until Trigon pulled his mental talons from her memories and spoke, "Most impressive. Most impressive indeed. The only failing I can see in your performance is your earlier reluctance and the ultimate clemency you extended toward the weakling." Pride was dripping from his voice and Raven was repulsed by his approval.

A whisper below audible level issued from the dark mystic's mouth, "Curse you father. I nearly killed her and sent her soul plummeting into the Abyss."

Trigon responded drolly, "Yes, nearly. If you had finished the job, I would have taken great satisfaction in making sure the traitors' soul received the most... delicate attentions possible in the Abyss. No one challenges my scion." Raven's eye's hardened with anger, anger at her father for his behavior and anger at herself for her earlier willingness to surrender to the instincts he had burdened her with.

Grey was clouding her vision as her father's presence in her mind ate away at her energy reserves.

She had to focus through a developing migraine as Starfire inquired from the other side of the door, "Are you okay, Friend Raven? You have been in the room of bodily cleansing for a half hour and Beastboy hops around making cries of distress whenever I mention the word 'water'." Raven fought to push Trigon out of her head in earnest now, leaving Starfire's query unanswered as she focused inward.

The daemon lord didn't resist her effort and added one more comment, "These humans are good for you. I had lost all hope of your daemon heritage coming around before now. It is only a matter of time at this rate, before you open the Rift and release me from my prison of your own accord. I look forward to the..." His voice fell silent and the grey film tainting her sight lifted as his presence withdrew. Raven's grimace deepened at the horrific sincerity in her father's voice. The mirror cracked as her control slipped and waves of dark energy lightly buffeted the room. She planted her palms on the tile and levered herself to her feet, breathing heavily. She focused and the miniature storm died along with her aura.

Starfire called again in a concerned tone, "Raven?" The dark mystic replied in her normal monotone despite the fact that sweat poured down her face.

"I'm coming out now. Tell Beastboy that he can do his business."

"That is no longer a problem. Friend Beastboy has gone in search of a bush." Raven managed to roll her eyes as she opened the door. Starfire hovered right outside and her eyes widened in concern as she took in Raven's disheveled appearance and the cracked mirror. Her desire to escape the ensuing conversation outweighed her hygienic pickiness and Raven curtly preempted the alien's answer.

Raven coldly said, "I'm fine Starfire. I'll take care of the mirror in the morning. For now, just leave me alone and let me get to bed." Her voice was tinged with anger and Raven wished that she had brought a spare cloak into the bathroom so that she could hide some of her expression in shadow. Clad only in a towel, she was distinctly uncomfortable. Starfire nodded in understanding. Sighing, the dark mystic turned and walked toward her room down the darkened hallway.

Thus, she didn't see the calculating gleam that sparkled in Starfire's emerald eyes. The tall alien whispered to herself as she counted out points on her fingers.

"Raven is clearly upset about her fight with Terra. She does not want us to know why or share her pain like true friends should." Starfire drifted down the darkened hallway as she reflected.

"Raven was not comforted by the pudding of sadness. Nor will she enjoy the sound of the gorka pipes." The alien frowned, biting her lip as she wracked her brain fro ways to make her introspective friend feel better. Starfire's eyes lit up as she hit upon a solution.

"Of course, the rice cakes of remorse!"

She paused mid-exclamation, "Now where did I store my X'hlian pepper pods? I hope I brought enough..." The alien moved off determinedly into the dark hallway.

Raven was in bed asleep, but it wasn't a restful sleep. Her mind had conjured up a nightmare visionscape upon which her guilt, fear, and anger could play itself out, given form by the legacy of her daemon father. She helplessly looked on with her mind's eye. She and Terra faced on another across a mud filled arena, mirrored walls sending crazed reflections in all directions. Above the arena, an audience watched in grim silence. Its members were every foe and friend she knew: Jinx, Robin, Dr.Light, Starfire, Mad Mod, Cyborg, Slade, Beastboy, Overload, Thunder, Mumbo, Aqualad... The crowd faded into the infinte shadows above. Terra and Raven moved to an angry dance, sometimes, grappling, sometimes hurling each other about the arena with sporadic bursts of their powers.

Raven was winning: Terra gasped and heaved as she was hurled back by in a wave of black energy. Raven saw the blonde in staccato flashes as she fought: sweeping Terra into the mud, blocking a clumsy strike, throwing Terra into the air like a broken stick. The fight seemed to slow as the dark mystic struck Terra in the chest, her hand aglow with black light. The blonde hit the mirrored wall hard and slid down it limply. Raven caught sight of her reflection and paused horrified. She didn't recognize herself. No, she recognized herself from a hundred nightmares. Her features were utterly transfigured: red skin, four angry yellow eyes, flowing white hair over a ragged blue cloak. She looked like her father.

Trigon's voice rang out, "Finish her off, child." Raven snapped her gaze upward and looked upon a horrid spectacle.

Her friends and her foes were being borne off by a tide of shadowy figures, Futile resistance flared and drowned as flaming knives were brought to bear on the dissenters. Trigon towered above the tide and his gaze looked upon her alone.

He intoned in his rumbling voice, "Slay the traitor and I will share my throne with you unto the ending of the universe." Raven was horrified to find herself nodding agreement and gesturing at Terra as the other fought to get to her knees. Raven engulfed Terra in a black cocoon and held her under the mud. Her face widened into an involuntary smirk as the air bubbles trickled to the surface from Terra's lungs. She could only see the mud, bubbles popping one by one. Trigon's laughter filled her ears as the bubbles stopped. The vision faded to black.

Raven snapped awake and clutched her sheets to her chest. She calmed herself and looked toward her window. The dark mystic could see bars of blue through shades and squinted at her alarm clock.

The squat device accusingly blinked '9:03' in red letters, prompting her to scowl tightly as she thought, "Overslept. The others will be up by now and I'm going to get a lot of meditating done with them around. They're so sensitive to my needs..." She sighed lowly as she reflected. True, she could scare them into leaving her alone for a few hours, but she didn't feel like doing that this morning. Pulling herself out of bed, Raven opened her closet revealing a swath of blue outfits. She selected a cloak and fastened it over her shoulders. Suitably armored against the world, the dark mystic straightened her shoulders and unlocked her door.

Raven silently padded down the hallway, hoping against certainty that she might find the main hall deserted and have the chance to quietly enjoy her tea. Those futile hopes were crushed as she detected a pungent aroma coming from her destination. Bracing herself, she walked up to the main hall door and it opened. Revealed was a scene that was pathetically normal in her life. The kitchen was a mess: bowls, spoons, spatulas, measuring cups, pans, etc filling the sinks. She squinted as she looked at the mass that was charred to the pan's surfaces. Was that rice? The aroma was thicker here, almost sickeningly strong. The TV had the gamestation logo emblazoned on its screen, evidently paused mid session. Starfire darted over to Raven holding a tray covered with roughly rectangular, purple and orange lumps. The alien's eyes blazed with eagerness and the dark mystic shuddered internally as she waited fro the bubbly alien to speak.

"You are awake at last, friend Raven! I have been awaiting your arrival."

Raven gazed cautiously at the red-head as she inquired, "Cooking this morning?" Starfire blushed and shrugged apologetically.

"I am sorry for the mess. I wanted to make you the rice cakes of remorse. Sadly I miscalculated the amount of heat need to prepare the rice and was only able to salvage enough for ten." Leary of anything Starfire made and internally amazed at the fact she could burn rice, Raven raised an unseen eyebrow.

She said, "Did you offer some to the others?" "Oh, yes! But, oddly they didn't want to have their second cake."

Starfire looked marginally distressed as she continued, "Cyborg and Beastboy looked most sick before dashing out of the room and Robin said he liked it, but also departed at some speed. More for us!"

The dark mystic tweaked her eyes in reluctance, "I think I'll pass, Starfire. I just want some..." She trailed off at the crushed look on the red-head's face and relented. She was not in the mood to crush hopes right now, even trivial ones.

"Very well. Give me one." Starfire held up the tray and Raven picked up the smallest cake. She took a bite of the strangely colored morsel and amazement washed through her at the taste. It was good; more than that, it was familiar... Starfire saw the minute signs that indicated pleasure in her inscrutable friend and rejoiced inside, careful not to disturb Raven's train of thought as she munched.

The dark mystic asked, "May I have another?" Starfire bit her lip to keep from squealing in joy as happiness washed through her being like a flood. She nodded in the affirmative. Raven took the largest cake this time.

Raven paused halfway through the next cake and asked a question she hoped she would not soon regret, "How did you make these? These are very... good. We had something like them on Azarath."

Starfire's response bubbled with happiness, "It pleases me that you are happy with the cakes. These always cheered me up when I was a small child in the B'reck Knuml. I had to do much improvisation to recreate the recipe. It helped that I had a stock of X'halian pepper pods on hand."

Raven raised an eyebrow and asked, "X'halian pepper pods? Purple fruit that grows on a short bush with black leaves and huge white flowers?"

"Oh, yes. I am glad you know of them. I had to use most of mine to flavor this batch. We can go to get some more together! This is..." Raven zoned out briefly as she reflected. X'halain pepper was an aquired taste and your first bite could be quite repulsive. A part of her, normally kept under tight control, quirked her lips into a brief smile, as she imagined the boys' reaction to the strange taste. Cutting into Starfire's happy monologue, the dark mystic gestured at the tray and spoke.

"Have some. You shouldn't have to do all those dishes without getting something out of it."

"I had two, but thank you." Starfire grabbed a cake and began to munch on it as the dark mystic did the same. The two females shared a quiet moment. Raven lost herself in the experience, a slight smile gracing her face. Her nightmares seemed light years away as she partook in this simple pleasure.

So you made it down here. What did you think? Good? Bad? Don't care? If you see fit, leave a review. Thank you for you time.


	3. Blood and Shadows

Okay. This project has been too long delayed for my tastes, but I'm finally wading into it: time to wrap up this AU once and for all. Okay, quick recap: history branched from the series proper when Terra got sucked under Daemonmode Raven's cloak during the Aftershock P1 fight. This left Terra mentally traumatized and Raven feeling acutely guilty (not to mention short circuiting the whole, pitiful Terra traitor cry fest. What a loss.). A talk with daddy dearest did not help her mood and basically, Raven's been quite tweaked. Enough from me, I'm sure you care more about the story proper. I do not own Teen Titans in any way, shape, or form. That honor belongs to Cartoon Network and I have no intent of challenging that person. I seek no profit from this and merely hope to avoid being sued… Please enjoy, despite my long-winded introduction.

Blood and Shadows

By Wordbearer

There was an atmosphere of waiting in the main hall of Titans Tower. By silent consent, four of the group's five members awaited the return of the fifth. They were silent, most glancing furtive looks at one another and clearly wishing to be somewhere else. Three of the four sat together on the couch. Robin held Starfire's hand, nervously flexing his gloved fingers. Starfire ignored her leader's touch and kept glancing at the clock as though that would force time to move more quickly through the tension laden air. Cyborg stared out of the window, consumed with some private dilemma. The forth sat to one side, seemingly unconcerned, her eyes locked onto the page of her book from the shadowed confines of a cerulean hood.

Raven sat cross legged, draped in her characteristic blue cloak and all but motionless as she flipped the pages of her book. Her features were utterly calm, a tranquil mirror that failed to reflect the unease of her companions. Yet something was off, some element out of place. Her eyes skimmed the pages not out of interest, but as a distraction from the carefully channeled storm that engulfed her mind. Raven was consumed with doubt and self-directed anger. Inhuman self control kept the emotions from showing, but there would be a release, however she would not show it now. The dark mystic's eyes flickered to the doorway as it whirred open and every gaze locked on the emerald-skinned figure making his way through the open aperture.

"Guys! Boy do I feel good…" Puzzlement spread through the room at the changeling's exuberant statement. This was not the mood they were expecting from their friend after he came back from his visit to Terra's hospital room.

Robin spoke first, "Beastboy, are you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be? All is right with the world. Who wants some tofu?"

Cyborg's eyebrow nearly jumped off his scalp in surprise and he hesitantly asked, "You did go to see Terra, right? According to the hospital, she was pretty messed up. Not something that'd put a spring in my step…"

Beastboy waved off the larger youth's concern. Grabbing a soda from the fridge, he popped it before speaking, "Oh. Her. Terra's fine… They got some new doctor to take care of her. She'll be good as new in no time!" He chugged down a quick gulp and grinned at his highly confused comrades.

Starfire spoke up, "Not to shatter you newfound confidence, but did not the men of psychiatric treatment say that her recovery would take some time? Robin spoke with them just two days ago. They would not change their judgment so quickly…"

Beastboy lost some of his grin and wrinkled his brow in thought, "They did say that, didn't they? Anyway, guess the new guy they brought in had some new high level method they didn't think of before. He took Terra to his school, to give her treatment. Real nice even if he had a creepy name. Something like Brother Blood, he said. Go figure."

Alarm bells started to ring in the other's heads and a hubbub of conversation rose up. Raven rose unnoticed and walked over to Beastboy. During a lull in the noise, the half-daemon added a quiet comment that brought the conversation to a halt, "You're lying, Beastboy. I don't think you mean to though."

Beastboy sounded indignant, "Why would I lie about this? Terra is in good hands and should be back to her normal, happy self! I thought that'd you would be glad to hear this, since you pushed her into psycholand!"

Raven's eyes flickered briefly, but her response was the normal monotone, "I'd love to hear news like that, if it were true. You have been brainwashed by a telepath though, and I want to know why."

Starfire queried, "Are you sure, Friend Raven? I can't tell that someone has washed his brain."

The three boys nodded agreement with this statement, prompting the dark mystic to sigh before answering, "I can just tell these things. I can't prove it to you right now; just take my word for it."

Robin interjected, "Okay. If Beastboy has been brainwashed, what can we do about it?"

Raven answered, "Let me handle it. I haven't used it often, but I do have a reasonable amount of telepathic power. I can go in and unravel whatever has been altered…"

Beastboy exclaimed loudly, "Hello!! I'm still in the room! I'd think that I'd know if someone decided to use my head as a dish towel…"

Raven was blunt, "Actually, you wouldn't. That's what makes it so hard to detect. If you hadn't come in acting so strangely, I wouldn't have bothered to look at your pin-head long enough to see the signs."

Robin rubbed the bridge of his nose in disgust, "Whatever. Okay. I believe you Raven. What do you need us to do? This whole thing stinks to me." Raven grinned slightly; her pleasure at the victory minimized by the nature of what she had gotten herself into.

"I need you to keep Beastboy still and everything quiet. If I get disturbed while doing this, both of our minds could be hurting for sometime. And I don't want to have his tofu recipes drifting around my head…"

Starfire's eyes sparkled in concern, "It sounds much too dangerous! Surely there is another way to unwash his brain?" Raven coldly indicated that there wasn't with a slight hand gesture. Beastboy looked from speaker to speaker, alarm growing every second.

He looked to Cyborg for support, but the cybernetic youth merely shock his head, "Sorry, BB. I'm with Raven on this one. You're acting oddly." Beastboy darted for the door but ran head first into a black barrier and fell back on his butt, knocked cold by Raven's sudden assault.

Raven looked back into the stunned stares of her teammates unperturbed, "What? I couldn't let him get away. Now tie him up and gag him before he revives. If this is any indicator of his mood, he's not going to be cooperative." Cyborg, Starfire, and Robin glanced askance at one another and shrugged before complying. 'In for a penny, in for a pound' was the consensus.

Beastboy revived to find himself tied to a chair facing Raven while the others watched uneasily from the sidelines. She was sitting motionless, her breath low and even. He tried to move, but found that he was bound in rope. The changeling yelled, "Let me go! I don't want her poking around my head… I keep all my jokes there!"

That was what he meant to say at any rate, what came out was a muffled, "Mmm mm mm, mmmmm mmm mm mm!"

Beastboy, outraged, thought, "What?!? They gagged me? They have to be kidding…"

Raven's voice echoed in his skull, "No. We're not. I need you to be quiet if this is going to be a safe experience for both of us. I'm sure you want six hundred pages of memorized hymns in your head if you mess this up." Beastboy began to sweat when he realized Raven was already in his head.

He tried one last gambit, "How about we skip this whole thing? I could remember whatever you think I should remember later…" "We need to know now. Now be quiet, if you can do that."

Beastboy's eyes widened as Ravens' aura flared into the form of some fearsome bird of prey. The shadow leapt at him and he was drowned in the infinite darkness. The darkness filled with points of light, streamers of glowing energy pulsing between them. Somehow he knew that these were his thoughts and feelings. A shadowy presence swept past his mind's eye and he was dragged in its wake. A new set of lights came into view and even he thought they looked funny. The streamers that were so simple and clean in the other area were clotted with tangles, whirlpools of maroon fire twisting the web out of shape. Threads of crimson turned the whole array into some malignant growth, bleeding and angry. "Here we are," a voice whispered and Beastboy was unsurprised to find that the voice was Raven's. The view drew closer, to a glowing knot at the heart of the tangle, a swollen core of rot that held the whole structure together. "Now, Let us see what this mess is hiding." It seemed that a talon ripped through that bright ball of flowing thread, ripping it into a million dissolving fragments. The entirety of the altered pattern snapped and sang of released tensions as it settled back into normal configuration, the crimson vanishing like morning mist. Beastboy's happy memories of the new doctor, of Terra's miracle cure, splintered into a million indistinct fragments. In their place, a flood of new memories cascaded through his sight. A small cry of pain reminded him that Raven was seeing this too.

There was Terra, shaking and bandaged, on a hospital bed, sleeping uneasily. Terra screaming as she saw his earnest face, fear overwhelming her relief as tormented thoughts flared through her psyche. Tear blurred eyes gazing at a forcibly sedated Terra, all hope shattered by the all-consuming terror Beastboy had felt radiating from her in thick waves. A door opening. A hand on his shoulder. Looking up to a distinguished, narrow face, tufts of white hair sprouting from the temples of a figure robed in white and gold. Questions from a calm, melodious voice. Answers from his trembling, uncertain one. Thin, strong fingers forcing him to look up into a pair of red glowing eyes. Himself slumping back as the man, Brother Blood his name was, lifted Terra from her bed and gently disconnected all the monitors. A youth clad in a purple bat-like cloak appearing from nowhere in response to an unspoken command.

A single statement, "Take us home. The HIVE has need of this one's power. Once I repair her mind, she will be my greatest solider." The three of them, the youth, Terra, and Blood, vanishing amid a pulse of black light. Images fading into nothing as Raven hurled herself out of his head with a relieved cry.

Beastboy opened his eyes with a small groan as Robin untied him. He was too stunned to speak and he went to look at the one who brought these cold memories to the fore. Raven was being helped to a couch, her eyes tightly closed and a hand pressed to her forehead as if to hold her brain in. Her hood hid most of her face, but she was trembling slightly. It took the changeling a second to realize that Starfire was offering him something to drink.

Rubbing his wrists to restore circulation, he answered the alien, "Thank you. I think Raven could use something too." No one spoke, a silence gathering in the air that they were strangely unwilling to break.

Raven added in a heavy monotone, "This is comfortable. I was right, Beastboy's memories had been altered and this Brother Blood has taken Terra for some reason."

His voice full of an alien seriousness, Beastboy commented, "He works for the HIVE." Beastboy was drained, mentally and physically with no reserves to spare for even a token joke.

Robin leapt into the conversation, "Terra has been taken by the HIVE by someone intending to use her as an ultimate weapon. Last I heard, Terra was in no condition to go the bathroom by herself, so why would the HIVE…"

"If Blood was able to alter Beastboy's memories with such ease, he can rebuild Terra's mind to the point where she can be used as a weapon again." Robin deflated a little at Raven's comment.

He gamely continued, "All right then. Given this information we have two options. One…"

The pulsing red lights of an emergency alert interrupted the boy wonder's statement. Cyborg rushed over to the computer and typed in a few commands to call up information, "Guess what everyone? HIVE has decided to try and raid a bank vault. Seems they're tired of hiding away. Jinx, Mammoth, and Gizmo are at 34th and R Street."

Raven called out, "Then we'll stop them. If HIVE is moving, we have to keep them from… from…" The half-daemon trailed off as she tried to rise to her feet and failed.

Starfire rushed over and pushed back her down, "Friend. Your act of reading the mind has obviously drained you. You should remain here and regain your strength." "I'm fine, Starfire." Raven pushed herself to her feet and took two steps before falling again.

The dark mystic glared at her treacherous legs as Cyborg chimed in, "If that isn't a sign that you should sit this one out, I don't know what is. We'll be fine. After all, how many versions of 'Attack Pattern Alpha' can there be?"

Robin was clearly impatient, "Come on. At this rate, they'll empty the vault before we're half way there. Raven stay here. Everyone else… Titans go!" The group darted out the door to the garage. Beastboy took a moment to grin back at Raven, his emotional gloom lifted by the spectacle of Raven out argued by her massed teammates. Raven was left alone with her mouth open. She pulled back her hood and gazed at the ceiling imploringly.

Raven arched an eyebrow as the team stumbled back in from the mission 40 minutes later. Taking in the bruised conditions of her friends, Raven asked in a carefully neutral tone, "How'd it go? Easy as expected? Nice that I wasn't needed this time." An unpleasant smirk marred her features as indignant anger contested with concern for their well being. Robin shot a cold look at the half-daemon as he nursed a bruised rib.

Starfire seemed unaware of the exchange as she started to speak a mile a minute, "We stopped the foul members of HIVE from escaping with significant amounts of earth currency, but Robin was injured in the process. Cyborg is happy about something even though Gizmo humiliatingly magnetized him to the wall and we had to wait for the effect to fade before we could…"

Cyborg interjected, "I think Raven gets the picture, Star." Attention turned to Beastboy and Cyborg, who stood in the doorway.

The latter had a big grin on his face as he asked, "Think you could get us some sodas, Raven? If it doesn't tire your highness out that is." The dark mystic schooled her features as she complied with his request.

As she handed out the drinks, Cyborg began to speak, "We accomplished something more than kick some HIVE butt this mission. Guess what I managed to tag Mammoth with as they high-tailed it out of there?" Robin hit a button calling up a map of the city on the big screen. A red dot pulsed under a section of the inner city.

His voice was smug, "Tracking device. Good job, Cyborg. I wish that I had thought of it."

Cyborg gave Beastboy a high five as the mechanical youth answered, "I know. Y'all wish you were as cool as me. HIVE's secret academy isn't as secret as it used to be. We just have to decide what to do with the info."

Starfire leapt up, knocking her soda to the kitchen floor, "We must assault as soon as Robin is recovered! The evil HIVE must be stopped and traitor-friend Terra liberated from their grasp."

Robin interjected, "Cool it, Starfire. We have no idea what to expect from them on their home turf and information would be more helpful than simply beating the sense out of them." Raven narrowed her eyes.

Beastboy exclaimed, "All right! Now I get to display my incredible skills at infiltration!" He flashed through a series of green animal forms and started sneaking around from the cover of one piece of furniture to another.

Raven rolled her eyes at this display and looked levelly at her brightly clad leader, "Beastboy has the right idea for once, but I think we may need to have someone else infiltrate the place." Beastboy grinned, excited by the strange prospect of Raven complementing him, and then frowned as the meaning of the rest of the comment hit home.

The changeling's exclamation was drowned out by the sound of Cyborg cracking his metallic knuckles.

"Now that's where my latest new toys come in..," Cyborg held up a pair of rings with enormous white stones embedded in them on an open palm. The group looked at him curiously for a few seconds.

Rubbing his free hand across his forehead, Cyborg continued, "These aren't just a nice fashion accessory, they have a little trick built into them." He slipped a ring onto each hand and adjusted them slightly.

Winking at them, Cyborg asked, "Y'all ready for this? It's impressive."

Raven's currently fragile patience snapped and she barked, "Just do whatever you're going to do or I'll support Beastboy's request to go on the mission."

Holding his hands up disarmingly, Cyborg chuckled, "Geez, someone's moody. Who disapproves of a little showmanship?" Raven would have retorted, but Starfire put a calming hand on the dark mystic's shoulder. Cyborg used the reprieve to knock the rings together and a coruscating aura of light blinded the watching Titans. The light faded and an utterly transformed Cyborg was visible: no prosthetics, just a fairly muscular teenager clad in black with a shaven skull and a pair of clear dark eyes.

Beastboy summed up everyone's response, "Wow. I wouldn't recognize you if I hadn't seen you do that right here."

Cyborg smirked, "That's right. With these babies, I can get in to the HIVE and get out without one of those goons realizing that the Titan's finest is right under their noses…" He began a long and involved speech about how he had built the rings, how they work, etc.

Raven tuned out the self-congratulatory oratory as she thought about what he was proposing, "Cyborg is going into the HIVE, alone, to find Terra and bring her out." She looked at her teammate and closed her eyes, "We're missing something… Oh. That could be bad."

Raven stepped forward and added in a low voice that cut through the hubbub, "One question. What happens if those rings break mid-mission?"

Cyborg's face creased, "The hologram image fails. Why do you want to know?"

Raven was the center of attention as she nodded, "Alright then. So you're in the middle of HIVE academy, surrounded by dozens of super villains-in-training, completely unmasked. What happens next?"

"I call you guys for help and hold out as best I can until you show up and we kick bad guy butt. So no problem, I still go in."

Robin interjected, "I see Raven's point. If your cover is blown, a dangerous possibility since Brother Blood seems to be a telepath, we're likely to show up in time for you to be held hostage in an underground fortress with its defenses up and running."

Cyborg threw up his still disguised hands up in disgust and exclaims, "If you're going to worry about that, we might as well not go. It's not like any of us is capable of teleporting back to Titans Tower at the drop of a hat! Come on, there always some risk in these things!"

Raven had a sinking feeling in her stomach just before Starfire added, "Actually, I believe friend Raven can teleport… Is that not correct?" Raven nodded her head with a sense of relieved resignation.

Beastboy directed a question at Cyborg, "How long would it take you to alter those ring thingies to work on Raven?"

Cyborg twisted the rings off and returned to his normal appearance before answering, "A couple of hours…"

He sounded petulant as he continued, "You guys can't take this from me though! Come on! I made the rings, I deserve to do this!" Robin was sitting on a chair rubbing his chin reflectively as this was going on.

He mused out loud, "Raven is better qualified for this mission, but if she doesn't want to do it, I guess that you should have your chance." Raven pulled her cloak more tightly about herself as she thought through a tumbling storm of thoughts and feelings. The confusion in her normally organized mind angered the half-daemon and prompted her to quick action.

She opened her eyes and stared directly at Robin, "Of course I'll do it. If Cyborg fixes those things to work on me, I'll handle the legwork and get the information we need. We can't let them keep Terra. She's too powerful."

Robin gave the disappointed cybernetic youth a hard look as he spoke, "It's settled then. Cyborg, reprogram those rings. Raven, get some rest. You'll need it in all likelihood. Everyone else stay out of the way." Beastboy seemed disgruntled as he scurried off and Starfire helped Robin on his way to the infirmary. Cyborg and Raven were left alone in the room, the later mildly uncomfortable under the former's hurt look.

Cyborg lectured sternly, "I don't know what's up with you since the whole Terra thing. But don't let it make you sloppy. I know you can't take a hit like me, so you're going to have to be extra careful, teleporting or no teleporting. Don't let your emotions run away with you…"

Raven was able to feel a cold flare of resentment at the insinuation and answered in a monotone, "I am always in control of my emotions. They don't sway my judgment." Cyborg snorted, "Tell that to Terra and Doctor Light. Anyway, if you're going to use these babies, you need to change your wardrobe for the duration of this mission."

She narrowed one eye disbelievingly, "My wardrobe? What does that have to do with anything?"

"The diatomic fusion batteries in these things can only pump out so much juice. If you wear that billowing sheet of yours while they're running, it will get blurry and obvious. Not exactly what you're after." Raven scowled while internally acknowledging the truth of Cyborg's statement.

"So you want me wearing something reasonably skin tight."

The other smiled, "Skin tight isn't necessary, but it would help. Just drop the cloak and you'll be fine."

Her voice chilled the air as she responded, "I'm not going outside in just my leotard."

"So wear a dress. I'm sure you have something other than spare uniforms in that closet of yours…"

Raven settled to the floor of her room and unfolded her legs as a clock accusingly blinked '5:00 pm' from her desk. The meditation had helped tremendously, but there was no putting it off anymore. She needed to get changed; Cyborg would be here any minute with the reprogrammed rings. The dark mystic massaged her forehead before turning towards the closet as if it held a thousand wolves waiting to rip her limb from limb. The door opened, revealing a swath of identical outfits: blue cloaks on hangers with dark blue leotards underneath. Raven pushed them aside and reached for a box in the far corner of the closet. There was a note taped to the top inscribed in her careful handwriting, "If you found this box, you are dead already. Open this box to be skinless, alive and screaming for as long as I can keep you alive in such a state." Raven shook her head at the crude brutality of the note, one she had penned shortly after joining the team. She lifted the lid and her face twitched as she forced down a wave of rebellious dread that surged as she took in the box's contents.

Layers of white cloth unfolded as she pulled out an outfit she had privately sworn to never wear again, but she would overcome this urge for as long as she needed to. The dark mystic changed in a measured rush. She didn't waste motion, but proceeded a quickly as possible while doing so. When she was done, she looked at her mirror and shook her head in disbelief at what she saw. Her petite frame was draped in white cloth from head to toe, patches of gray flesh accenting the strong, alabaster fabric. A hooded gown went down to her shins, slit on both sides to allow easy movement. White boots went halfway up her thighs and long white gloves ended just above her elbows leaving her shoulders bare. Her fingers traced spidery, faded tattoos that spiraled around her upper arms, cascading around runic characters that chased themselves like a nest of serpents. She ran fingers over rough patches where the Azarathian silk had been cleaned of blood with bleach and stitched together with a thousand telekinetic needles. Ravens' azule eyes shimmered with unease as the garment evoked a thousand memories. She pulled the hood up and over her head, minutely relieved as her face was hidden in the shadow of the sharply pointed hood.

Her concentration was broken as someone knocked on her door. Raven took quick, sure steps and opened it before whoever it was could knock again. Cyborg and Robin stood outside, mildly nervous. The cybernetic teen's knuckles hung extended in the air as he took in her new outfit.

He shook his head in disbelief, "Wow. That's a new look…"

Robin's masked eyes seemed unimpressed, but one eyebrow did rise slightly as he silently asked, 'Tattoos?'

Collecting himself, Cyborg continued, "Nice choice, very different from your normal clothing and compact enough for the rings to hide, provided you don't jump around like a cheerleader."

Raven stared directly at him, making him sweat, "Right. Raven, here's the rings. You saw how I activated them. You do it." Raven looked down as she fiddled with the devices and tapped them together gently. As the glare rose, she missed the plotting look that Cyborg threw at his grim-faced leader.

Looking down at her gloved hands she didn't notice anything different. Cyborg chimed in lightly, "Look a little lower, I set the rings to alter your skin tone, eye and hair color. Figured you had a fun, little outfit planned from the determined look in your eyes when we left to get this ready. I didn't want to mess it up." Raven noticed that her skin was now a peachy cream color and looked up at the Cyborg's smirking face. He seemed about to explode with laughter.

She asked, "What's so funny?"

Robin was disapproving as Cyborg added, "Guess it's time to find out if blondes really do have more fun." Cyborg exploded at this point, guffawing at the top of his lungs and slapping his knees. Her eyes, cold and narrow with displeasure, Raven darted into her room and pulled down the hood.

A miniature shockwave buffeted the pair from the open doorway and Cyborg whispered to the boy wonder, "I know we're going to live to regret this, but this was too good to pass up."

Grinning behind his gloved hand despite himself, Robin replied, "I know, but you're going to be the one she crucifies when she gets back." Cyborg paled at the thought.

Raven reappeared in the open doorway, clearly on the edge of rage as her aura boiled with suppressed violence. A flush filled her otherwise emotionless face, a fact abundantly clear on her newly creamy skin. Her hair, the same cut as before, but yellow as a dandelion stood on end. Raven's eyes, a lighter shade of blue, similar to the summer sky, were filled with icy self control. Robin gave Cyborg a 'nice to know you' look as he stepped away from the cybernetic youth, clearly expecting immediate reprisal. Raven shuddered as she forced the malicious urges strumming through her frame away and brought her powers under control before no more than a dozen light bulbs exploded in their sockets.

The half-daemon's response was calm when she finally spoke, "Nice job. No one would expect me to turn up like this. The unlikelihood of me ever voluntarily wearing anything like this is a disguise in and of itself." Cyborg sighed in exaggerated relief causing Raven to roll her eyes in disgust. She turned the rings off and returned to her normal coloration.

"Let's get moving. I don't want to wear this getup forever." The three of them walked down the hallway to finish her preparations to enter the HIVE.

So you made it down here… Yes, this is a cliffhanger, but I delayed posting this up till I had the companion chapter ready. So I'm not totally evil, just sinfully slow. What did you thinks of this though? Good? Bad? Stereotypical as heck? Leave a review if you see fit and thank you for your time.


	4. A Raven amid the HIVE

Chapter four of this piece and while it's been long delayed, I feel it was worth waiting to not leave a cliffhanger in place to torment you all. Anyway, legal disclaimer and then story. I don't own Teen Titans in any way, shape, or form. That honor belongs to Cartoon Network and I have no intent of challenging them. I don't seek a profit from this and merely hope to avoid being sued… Please enjoy.

A Raven amid the HIVE

By Wordbearer2

The white-clad girl paused in front of the rundown warehouse and approached a seemingly normal wall. Resisting the urge to react, she stepped into the moldering brick and passed into a gleaming yellow chamber. Looking up from the shadows of her hood, the girl met the electronic eye that glared from the corner. A voice droned, "Step forward and prepare for retinal identification. Failure to do so will result in immediate termination." Sighing, she pulled back her hood revealing a short-cut swath of blond hair and light blue eyes. She put her eye up to the scanner and tensed as a green beam of light played over her dilated pupil. The voice spoke again, "Scan analyzed. Subject identified as HIVE student designate: Erinnyes Liche, Trainee. Welcome to HIVE academy." A hidden door slid open and revealed a hallway layered in hexagonal panels. The petite girl slipped in and sighed in relief as the door closed silently behind her. Relief thundered through her mind. There had been no guarantee that she would get this far.

The monotonous voice rang out suddenly, but her only reaction was to turn bored eyes towards the speaker unit, "Erinnyes Liche. New students are to report to Headmaster Blood as soon as they arrive on site. Please proceed to the training room C. You will find him there. If you do not know how to reach that location, this unit will…" 'Erinnyes Liche' rolled her eyes in exasperation as the voice droned on and on, though she carefully took note of the machine's instructions, amused by the fact that it was utterly unaware it was speaking to an imposter. It had taken surprisingly little effort to hack into HIVE records and create the alias she was currently using: Erinnyes Liche, HIVE Trainee.

"It was like they wanted people to create false records for some reason," thought Raven. Cyborg had completed the task in under 20 minutes, even with all his double checking and anti-tracking work. This made the disguised dark mystic nervous for some reason now that she was here. She was walking in the heart of one of her team's greatest foes, seriously thinking about sabotaging their operation. Her white gown swishing against her legs, Raven focused as she walked, calming the flurry of concern that threatened her self-control. The slight flush was gone from her features by the time she reached the entrance to her destination. The doors opened as she approached revealing a spectacle.

The room was expansive; the size of a coliseum. The center of the chamber was a sunken pit filled with explosions as a trio of metahumans dashed towards a raised platform. The sight of this trio temporarily froze Raven. Jinx, Mammoth, and Gizmo were at combat practice, using their respective strengths to make their way through the automated obstacle course. Flares of purple light cascaded from a slight figure that leapt, spun, and flipped through a swarm of buzzing drones. Gizmo smirked from the relative safety of the air, borne up by his jumpack. Hails of missiles and strobes of laser fire screamed from the darting figure's miniscule frame and left a trail of destruction as he advanced, lost in a childish frenzy. A pillar cracked in half and toppled towards a trio of heavyset robots. One was crushed and detonated with a dull thumping boom. Mammoth charged through the cloud of dust and tore a surviving robot in half before turning toward the survivor who charged its weapon. The robot never fired as purple sparks rippled over its surface and the hulking construct fell to pieces. Gizmo zoomed overhead. The trio continued their progress, making the effort seem like child's play.

A hand on Raven's shoulder startled her out of her trance-like state. Raven swiftly recovered from her surprise as a smooth male voice spoke from behind her, "You must be new to the academy if you're impressed by those three." Raven turned and faced the speaker a look of question on her face. He was tall and well built, draped in a purple bat-like cape with translucent goggles. The dark mystic recognized him as one of the people who had taken Terra.

She kept her voice in a steely monotone and stared directly at his face as she responded, "Why would that be?" The boy was unphased by the look, a first in Raven's experience. He smirked and crossed his arms over his chest, a smug look in his brown eyes.

He spat at the trio of HIVE agents as they made their way through the last of their run, "They're a bunch of screw ups. Had to be held back and demoted a couple of grades. They got their butts kicked justa day ago. It's the talk of the academy." Raven didn't react at all to his spiel as she noted the information for future reference.

He cocked his head and grinned, "You must be new. I'm sure that I would remember someone with such a pretty face… Anyway, my name is Nightclaw, but you can call me John."

The dark mystic was both repulsed and stunned, the combination swiftly fermenting into rage as her innate dignity was riled up. That this… this… ape would dare to approach her in such a manner made her want to slam him through the nearest wall. She suppressed the urge with practiced ease as she replied, "Erinneyes Liche. Is that supposed to be some kind of pickup line?"

Nightclaw replied, "It's not a pickup line if it's true. Why? Do you think it's a pickup line? I think that someone's interested."

Raven let an ounce of the disgust of she felt boiling inside her show on her face as she cuttingly retorted, "You have no idea how that makes me wish I wasn't here right now. I make it a habit to date inside my species. There are enough low-browed cretins like yourself to point out the dangerous results of doing otherwise."

Bruce's look lost some of its cockiness and anger rushed to fill the void, "Okay, Erin. You want to play it that way? Be my guest, let's see how much cover I give you when we have to do tag team sparring, you little…"

Nightclaw's rant was aborted as a smooth voice issued from behind him, "Come now, Nightclaw. That is no way to speak to a new student, especially a new student who seems to have a quite a quick tongue in her mouth."

John paled and murmured, "Yes, Headmaster." A tall slim figure robed in white and gold patted the student's shoulder and passed into Raven's sight. The narrow distinguished face with its tufts of white hair and sharp intelligent eyes was previously emblazoned in her memory. This was Brother Blood.

Blood spoke again, directing his attention to Raven, "If I'm not mistaken, you are Miss Liche, the latest of my students. I am pleased to meet any who would be willing to learn in my simple school." Blood waved at the grandiose chamber and chuckled. A circle of watching students clad in a mish-mash of outfits laughed nervously with him, a fact that made Raven shore up her mental screens all the more securely.

Blood gestured and the laughter stopped abruptly as he continued, "I was especially concerned to meet you, your transcripts indicate that you specialize in Telepathy, Telekinesis, and Teleportation. Not the easiest of gifts to master, even given your exemplary records." The headmaster's eyes glittered with secret amusement and made the hair on the back of Raven's neck stand up. Something made the dark mystic want to tense up around Blood, something more than the fact of his telepathic power. As he spoke, she could hear something around his voice an undertone of ceaseless screams she felt at the edge of her hearing.

Raven forced herself to ignore the unease and gaze attentively as Blood continued, "I make a point to have special tutoring session with all my telepaths. I consider it my duty to help other's master the gifts that brought me such trouble in my youth. An unbound telepath can bring such misery on themselves and other people. Would you not agree that discipline is the key to using such power?"

Raven answered softly, "Of course."

The half-daemon wanted away from Blood. Now! The causeless fear that was bubbling up from her subconscious was nearly overwhelming; something primal that would overcome her inhibitions in a matter of minutes. She was caught by Blood's gaze and his smile was tainted with malevolence as a trickle of sweat slipped from the shadows of her white hood. The blowing of an siren announced the end of the trio's training session and the ring of HIVE students shuffled nervously, not wanting to break their leader's chat, but fully aware that he would be furious if they neglected their other duties. The white robed leader shook his head and turned away from Raven, a harmless smile playing over his benign features.

In a booming tone, Blood said, "I must have lost track of the time. Come, come students. On to your other duties…" The mass of students broke for the door and scattered into the halls, leaving Raven alone in the aisle between the seats.

Blood called over his shoulder to her as he went to talk with Jinx, Mammoth, and Gizmo about their performance, "Go to procure a room from the boarding officer. I'm sure you're tired and I want you bright and chipper for our meeting tomorrow morning. I have to reprimand some of your regrettably sloppy fellow students…"

He turned away and Raven let her breath quicken as he was lost from sight. That had been one of the most intense conversations she had ever experienced and she was determined not to have to go through it again. Raven turned and walked into the near empty halls, the white cloth of her outfit clashing softly with the yellow walls. She frowned as she thought, "I nearly lost it. What's wrong with me? Everything was manageable before, but now the least thing sets me off… Everything has been off ever since that fight, the one with… Terra." She privately cursed the blond to ten thousand years in the Abyss, sobering as she quickly realized that the depths of Terra's shattered mind could indeed contain horrors that made her Father's realm look tame.

Raven grimaced in anger and shook her head in self disgust, "I'm better than this. I can control my emotions. I'll get the information we need and get out of here. Then this thing with all its accursed ghosts will be put away and never trouble me again." She resentfully glared at the white gown she wore and paused to chant her mantra under her breath.

Suitably calmed, she didn't startle as a toneless voice inquired, "HIVE Trainee Liche, do you require assistance? I can direct to the boarding officer's chamber to acquire a room. Alternately, I can guide you to the cafeteria to eat before you travel to that location if you are hungry." The automaton waited patiently for her to respond. Raven blinked in thought. The mention of food was the catalyst that prompted a rumble from her stomach.

She nodded as she replied, "Cafeteria please." "Of course, Miss Liche. Please follow the drone to your desired destination." A small buzzing robot shot out of a hidden panel and flew down the hall. Raven followed the energetically bouncing ball of light and halted in front of a set of double doors labeled 'cafeteria'.

Raven slipped into the noisy cafeteria and immediately regretted her choice. The tables were almost full at this hour of the afternoon, arrays of costumed metahumans busily chatting it up with one another. She had never had the misfortune to go through the social pressure cooker known to most of her teammates as high school, but Raven had no trouble imagining that this had some resemblance to that experience. The dark mystic determinedly made her way over to the window where purple-robed figures served anonymous food stuffs. More than a few male eyebrows cocked interestedly at her. Raven made herself ignore the lecherous stares and promised herself to think of something creative to do to Cyborg when this was over… Taking a place in the queue, she took what was offered her, not letting her disgust at the unappetizing foodstuffs show on her face. Raven got out of the line and looked for somewhere to sit that was less crowded. There was one curiously empty table in the middle of the room and she made a beeline for it, arms burdened with the tray.

Someone called out, "You might not want to sit there. It's reserved for…" The half-daemon looked directly at the hapless student and even with her features masked by the appealing facade of Cyborg's illusionary skin, the student fell silent.

"I will not play your petty games," Raven whispered to the student body at large. She took a seat and set to eating with a mindless stubbornness. The potatoes were overcooked. The meat was pink and greasy, sitting in a puddle of stinking fat. The only thing worth eating was a small pile of string beans and even they were pocked with brown spots. Nevertheless, it was what she would have to subside on and she would tolerate what she had to in order to fulfill her promises.

A shadow fell over her and the dark mystic looked up, the act causing the hood to fall from her head. Gizmo, Jinx and Mammoth loomed over her; well, Mammoth did at any rate. Gizmo called at from a level somewhere in the vicinity of her knee, "Hey, newbie! This is our table, get lost."

Jinx added, "Yeah, this table is cursed. Anyone who sits here without our permission suffers minor embarrassment. I'm the good luck charm that keeps the curse away." A purple glint flashed in Jinx's eyes to match her malicious grin.

Mammoth hopped into the conversation, "You might say that this is our special table. Yah know? One just for us gifted students."

The towering blond cocked his head and grinned, "Although… We could make an exception for you. Always good to have fresh blood." The look the other two flashed him convinced Raven that the line had not been part of the plan.

Gizmo complained, "You lughead! This is our table! We're not sharing it with no one." The diminutive genius would have continued, but Mammoth picked him up by his backpack and dumped him down on a bench on the other side of the table.

"She stays. It pays to be nice to new students," Mammoth continued as he took a seat by Raven and motioned for Jinx to take a seat next to Gizmo. Jinx looked disbelievingly at him, but complied. The half-daemon took all this in and ruefully reflected on the indignity of it all.

As Mammoth shoveled down his food, Jinx leaned forward, interested despite herself, and asked, "How long have you been going here? You're new. I can tell."

Keeping her face carefully neutral, Raven replied, "I just enrolled. First day here."

Now Jinx was intrigued, "Really. Where did you do your prep work? Nobody gets in here without an impressive…"

Mammoth cut her off with his mouth still half full, "Don't pester her. She's cool enough sit with us isn't she? What's your name, sweet cheeks?" He put his arm around her shoulder, a profound violation of Raven's personal space that she found deeply offensive even from people she trusted.

This kind of disrespect from Mammoth made her next statement drip contempt and dull anger, "My name isn't sweet cheeks. Never call me that name again if you want to have children."

Mammoth guffawed, deeply amused with her response, and answered her, "That's spunk. I like that in a girl, even more than good looks. Now what's your name again?"

Gizmo muttered under his breath, "Gonad crazed moron." Jinx flashed Raven an bitter look.

She cut in sardonically, "First day and you already have guys wrapped around your fingers. How do you do it?" Raven didn't hear this comment. She was focused on containing the fury that was surging upwards with every comment that passed Mammoth's lips. She distantly heard him ask for her name again when she decided to follow a rash impulse.

She turned her head to Mammoth, looking him squarely in his smug eyes, "My name is Erinneyes Liche and I am the last human being on this planet you want to tick off. Too late for you." Confusion bloomed in his eyes as she touched his face with one gloved hand and sent a psychic probe lancing into his mind. It was easy, too easy. His mind had been weakened by previous telepathic probes and steady subliminal programming. It wasn't much of mental leap for her to connect the damaged mind to the robed headmaster of HIVE academy. This was a brief side shot of her main effort, the stream of horror she shot into the hulking male's brain. A thousand nightmare images, many of them left there by her Father as mementos of his visits, scenes from the Abyss that no human being should see, poured directly into Mammath's brain and he could not help but wither under the assault. The fear grew a hundredfold as it gathered images from Mammoth's mind to reinforce the assault. She grinned, drawing pleasure from the vicarious terror she was inflicting on her victim as he shied away from her and fell off the bench, weeping and slipping into the fetal position.

Jinx shot to her feet and demanded, "What did you do?" This shook Raven from the ecstatic trance and she shuddered with repulsion. The entire cafeteria was staring at them, at the massive youth rocking on the floor and wetting himself, at the slight newcomer who had reduced one of their most feared members to a shattered wreck.

Mammoth groaned in a tortured undertone and mumbled, "No. Mom, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt him. We were playing tag… Don't hit me. Please. Mom, please, I'm sorry…" Raven was suddenly ashamed of her pleasure at hurting him and got up to go.

Jinx blocked her escape and demanded, "I don't know what you did to him, but this isn't over. We'll talk later. Count on it." Jinx stepped to one side and the chastened half-daemon hurried out of the room. The others watched her silently, forming a corridor for her to flee through.

Before distance drowned it out, Raven heard Mammoth cry out, "Don't hit me, mommy! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" She gulped and hurried on her way.

Raven pulled out a small ovoid communicator from a hidden pouch and tapped it lightly to activate it. She whispered softly into the device, "Raven to Titans Tower. Come in."

Beastboy's voice answered, "…is that button? If Cyborg is going to make this thing so complicated, he should color code it or…"

Raven sighed. Some things never change. "Beastboy, you turned it on. Now listen to me."

The changeling sounded embarrassed, "Oh. Right. What are you doing calling in so soon? Shouldn't you be settling in for a few days before doing anything?" Raven pulled her hood further over her hood as she reflected ruefully.

She said, "Ideally, yes. There's been an incident however and Brother Blood is sure to be interested in me soon. There's no way I can stand up to him psychically if he brings himself fully to bear from what I've sensed.

There was a long pause before Beastboy answered, "That's bad… Just get on a computer and get some info quick. Robin's going to be ticked, but I'm sure he already has a plan B, C, and D ready."

The dark mystic replied in a droll monotone, "Right. I'm across from the computer lab now. I'll call back after I get what information I can." She snapped of the communicator before he could answer back.

Raven calmly walked across the hall and entered the room. The place was all but deserted and dark as a tomb. The only light came from the lamps that hung above each computer station. Raven pulled back her hood and breathed deeply before taking a seat in front of a monitor. As the screen lit up, she reflected that there was a part of her that would never trust these things completely, some quiet dread would linger on that these super machines were merely bidding their time before turning on their builders. She shoved the thought aside and set to work navigating the HIVE's systems. Irrationally paranoid as she was about computers, the half-daemon had made a point to master their use and her fingers flew over the keyboard and mouse like a swarm of spiders. She entered a folder labeled 'Students' and skimmed fruitlessly for Terra's name. Exhausting all other prehacking options, a feat she did not feel up to, Raven opened a document called 'Class Project' out of desperation. She could not have much time left.

The contents of the file made her eyes narrow and she set into the task of reading the voluminous document. The communicator beeped from within its resting place and Raven picked it up with her free hand as she continued to scroll down the page, taking in information.

She answered, "Raven here."

Cyborg's voice sounded worried as it issued from the device, "What's this I hear that you've screwed up already and need to get out of there? I swear if you…"

Raven was terse as she replied, "Cyborg. Feel free to chew me out later. Do you want to hear what HIVE's 'Class Project' is?"

Cyborgwasmiffed, "Why not? If you're screwing up my mission, I might as well listen to read me the details of their homework assignment."

Raven was deadly serious, "They're building something called a nuero-plasmic amplifier. When it's equipped to the right person, it will allow them to safely increase their energy output by 1000. You're on their list of ideal subjects by the way."

Cyborg exclaimed loudly enough to make Raven wince, "What?!? What in the name of heck is that thing?"

"I don't know. They didn't have the schematics in this file. If I look…" The room was flooded with light as someone switched on the overhead lights along the walls of the room.

Her short blond hair swinging, Raven snapped her head up and her face turned to stone as she took in the person standing in the doorway. Brother Blood gazed at her enigmatically with his arms behind his back. The white and gold robe ruffled gently as he slowly walked into the room. The dark mystic dropped the communicator and rose to her feet, fighting back the strange fear rising in her gut. Her eyes locked onto Blood and she held her tongue. Raven focused on her mantra to gather energy for the fight which was sure to follow.

Blood's tone was low and even, "Miss Erinneyes Liche, that little display of yours was most impressive. I would think that you would be eager to brag about such power. It would certainly warrant special training, perhaps even one-on-one tutoring with myself." He bowed his head and stopped talking. This display of mock humility did nothing to reassure Raven as the ever present screaming that accompanied Blood's presence suddenly spiked in volume, making her want to clap her hands over her ears for all the good that would do. Blood looked up and his eyes were as crimson as his name sake, a glow that made his face seem anything but attractive.

Raven felt waves of telepathic power wash over her mind as Blood started to speak again, "That is, unless you wanted to not attention, melt into the ranks of my students and avoid my attentions as much as possible. That doesn't seem like the go-getter attitude that someone with as spotless a transcript as yours would want. It is the perfect attitude for a spy though, Miss Liche. Or should I call you Raven?" The dark mystic tensed, physically and psychically, a sense of relief permeating her being at the ending of the masquerade. This relief was quite small at the realization that it was Brother Blood she would have to get past before leaving.

Blood's voice spiked in volume, "I won't tolerate the presence of a disruptive pupils in my school! Prepare for some of that one-on-one tutoring I promised, Miss Raven!" His hand shot out and a coruscating bolt of red lightning arched through the half-daemon's body. She was thrown against the wall and grunted against the pain. Her eyes flared and a computer monitor rose into the air. It didn't go far however, when the ebony power suspending it was inexplicably absorbed into her adversary's body. The drain caused another burst of visceral agony that Raven couldn't keep from her face. Blood smiled as he lobed another bolt of power into her and made her drop to her knees.

Raven chanted, "Azarath medrion Zinthos," and attempted to bring the ceiling above the white-haired headmaster down on him as he walked forward. Blood's eyes flared as this caused an even greater surge of pain throughout her body.

Raven could barely hear Blood as he chuckled, "Well, well. Now I know one thing about the Titans' most mysterious member. You're at least part-daemon." From her crouching position, Raven could see the hem of Blood's robe. She felt limp and drained by Blood's mere presence and moaned in agony as his touch made her feel like he was sucking the life from her. He lifted her by her chin effortlessly, his thin arm seeming to not even feel her body weight.

He stared her in the eye as he spoke, "Through all these centuries, I have bested many daemonic spawn. But have not done so in the last two hundred years. The burden of a reputation I suppose. I must thank you for this opportunity."

All Raven could see through a film of pain was Blood's face and all she could hear through the screaming was his voice as it hammered into her head from all directions. She barely felt it as Blood slammed her against the wall and he intoned, "As you haven't dissolved into ebony mist at my touch, you must be at least partially human as well and since you have so much power… I can make use of you. Let me show you the benefit of being a graduate of HIVE academy." Her mental screens were pounded from all sides with crushing violence and barely held. She slipped into her mind and ignored everything else: the pain of her bruises, the cold leeching touch of Blood's hand on her throat, and the crackle of sparks as the rings shorted out, stripping her of Cyborg's disguise. She would not allow Blood into her mind, could not.

He spoke as he assaulted her mental stronghold, crushing her will in a vice, "You are most impressive and obviously benefited from a skilled tutor for one so young. I have cracked open masters of the mystic arts in the time it took me to say this sentence…" A bladed mental wind swept over her shields, abrading her mind.

Raven said nothing and Blood continued, "Why are you so stubborn? No teenager can be so self assured as to be willing to stand alone against the world. And from what little I can see, you are so very alone…" The word 'alone' echoed in her highly ordered mind, over barren expanses of suppressed memories and past crystalline prisons of thought holding back every impulse she had ever felt. The dissonance weakened her shields for a second and Blood exploited a minute fracture in her wall and slipped into her head. With a flex of mental tendrils, he shattered her wall and poured over her mind, seeping into every thought.

Raven's mind was lost in the crimson tide of Blood's power, the feral stink of rich ichor filling every corner of her psyche and staining everything with his cruel presence. His voice thundered through her universe like the voice of an angry god, "I have never seen such a delicate mind as yours, one so afraid of itself and the world. I surprised that you were capable of destroying Terra's mind so completely. You hold your own brain together with pure will and regiment your thought like deadly chemicals. What in this void keeps you breathing from day to day? Why don't you give up?" Crude lances of thought stabbed into her locked memories evoking a thousand images: Azar, the temple, endless hours listening to prayer and smelling fragrant incense, a mother's hand on her young cheek, sneaking an extra rice cake from the temple kitchens. The images skipped ahead ten years to a meeting with new people who didn't look at her with hate, a black haired woman who tended to her blazing forehead as she fought off the flu in a doorless tower, meeting a group of young people she would come to regard as friends, hoarded images of pleasure amid a life of ceaseless discipline.

Blood laughed, "You hoard your happiness like a miser… What makes you so protective? Why do you think that all this could be taken away in seconds? I can help you. I can give you control, I can give you the happiness you are so starved for… Just give in to me. It's all I ask and I will give you everything you've ever desired for yourself."

Raven whispered softly, "No. I won't. I can't…" It was a desperate cry from the one corner of her thoughts she kept free, a cry that spoke of endless discipline even as her mind was inundated.

Blood's face was creased with a frown as his mental voice shouted, "I'm offering you salvation from yourself! Salvation from isolation, salvation from fear, and the gift of belonging! You want it. I know that for a fact! You're afraid of something else, something other than betraying your teammates. I will find out and make you mine…" Raven saw a massive crimson fist rise in her mind's eye and slam down against the surface of her mind. It bored into her subconscious, past basic urges both human and daemonic, urges that seemed locked in permanent war. Fear, so primal, so complete that it made her voice fall silent filled her as Blood's probe hung near a glistening sphere of thought. Streaming energy was wrapped around a void in her soul, a hole in her mind that seemed to go on forever.

Blood was truly astonished and the wonder showed in his voice, "This is like nothing I have ever sensed. This is the something you fear, it corrupts your mind and takes so much power that you have nothing to spare for yourself. If I remove it, you are mine…" Blood reached out and grabbed the ethereal shell that wrapped the void, ripping it with mental talons.

In the real world, the headmaster's face twitched in curiosity as he thought, "Odd, this construct is lending your mind power. How is that…" Blood's body stiffened in sympathetic pain as his soul was gripped by a fist of pure daemonic might. Blood's probe was dissolving into crimson streamers as ebony cords stabbed out from the holes his probe had made in the barrier and held him immobile before an ageless gaze.

A deep, rumbling voice sardonically intoned, "I believe that humans have a concept called private property. A concept I find most sensible. Humans also prove temperamental when they find someone abusing their property. I share that reaction and I am feeling most temperamental." The voice echoed through Raven's mind and into Blood's.

Raven spasmed in mindless fear as the horrifically familiar voice continued, "I find it deeply offensive that people like you play at these games. It is the job of me and my kin to torment human souls. Anything you mortals do is child's play compared to the skill of those who have had eons to refine our craft in the depths of the Abyss." The voice experimentally squeezed Blood's mind and the headmaster convulsed. Physically, Brother Blood dropped Raven and flung himself backwards against the computer desks. He stumbled over a chair and fell.

Blood gritted his teeth and whispered aloud, "You… Can't… Touch me, daemon. My shawl protects… Me!" He screamed as the voice squeezed again.

Dark amusement as old as time itself reverberated in the daemon's response, "Normally yes. That little trinket you have sown into your skin protects you from daemons on the physical and magical levels. But how can the power of your God's Avatar protect you when you stick your mind into a doorway of the Abyss, located in the depths of a daemonlord's scion's soul?" Trigon squeezed in a particularly painful manner and let go of his prize, allowing Blood's ravaged mind retreat all the way back to his body. A flurry of dark tendrils lashed out of the slowly healing orb and smoothed over the most ravaged portions of Raven's mind, repairing her enough to bring her consciousness out of shock.

Trigon symbolically slapped Raven's psyche and sternly said, "Now, daughter. This pretentiousfool has made a mess of your lovingly ordered mind, but I need you alive. You need to get a certain distance away fromhim before you can teleport to the safe embrace of your friends."

Raven asked a hesitant question, too stunned to understand what just happened, "Why are you helping me? I'm in exactly the kind of state you've wanted me in…"

Trigon sighed, "If only that were the case. I consider it unsporting compassion to coddle you in a moment of weakness, but the shell you have built to contain me is a touch too strong for me to control you safely…" In the depths of Raven's mind, the orb blocking Trigon's passage was healing, cutting off his tendrils one by one. Raven opened her eyes and stared at Brother Blood. The headmaster was clutching his skull and groaning softly, twitching in tightly controlled pain.

Trigon chided her urgently, "Child. He won't remain that way for long, his mind is too resilient even for me to break on such short notice, and you need to get moving. Now go, you aren't that hurt." Trigon's voice faded away amid the chorus of screams that emanated from Brother Blood.

The dark mystic pulled herself to her feet and tried to ignore the overwhelming soreness of her body. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth, sparks of ebony power flashing along her frame and channeling toward Blood. She took one step at a time and ignored the moans of the stunned headmaster. Her purple hair was limp with sweat. Raven felt like collapsing where she stood. But her accursed Father was right; she had to keep moving and get away from Blood and back to the tower.

"To do anything else would be foolish and I am not a fool," Raven murmured under her breath. She clung to that one spec of certainty amid a sea of confusion. Brother Blood. Trigon. Azar. Mother. Cyborg. Starfire. The images kaleidoscopically reeled through her head. Out in the hallway, she fell back against the wall. Her gown lay tangled amid her legs, but the dark mystic could not bring herself to care. There was too much else to feel and without the headmaster's dampening presence, her power was causing minature explosions of chaos to rise from the floor around her. Trigon had saved her. She wearily catalogued that thought away for another day, another century. She couldn't feel the aura of dread that Blood emitted out here and that would have to be far enough, the last drops of energy seemed to have fled from her body. Raven whispered her mantra and felt a surge of power answer the invocation. Focusing inward, Raven vanished amid a flash of black light.

So you made it down here… What did you think? Good? Bad? Confusing as Hell? Leave a review if you see fit. Just so that people know, I did not make up Brother Blood's ability to absorb Raven's telekinesis. That bit of lore is straight from the comics, albeit with a bit of tweaking to accommodate the difference between the cartoon and the source material. I hope you enjoyed and thank you for your time.


	5. Cat and Mouse

Hola. If anyone who read this fic before still is tracking it, I canonize you here and now. Just enjoy, a little fun thing I wanted to do before disappearing for a month. If there is a next chapter, (and I intend to wrap up the whole Terra/Blood/HIVE/Raven conflict by the end of this fic) I'll go back to Terra's issues… Disclaimer and then story. I do not own Teen Titans in any way, shape, or form. That honor belongs to Cartoon Network and I have no intent of challenging those people. I seek no profit from this and merely wish to avoid being sued. Please enjoy if you can… Combat prose ahead.

Cat and Mouse

By Wordbearer

A shot rang out. The bullet hurled through the smoke tainted air and punched into the shoulder of a leaping figure. The figure dropped onto the roof and rolled, his black tattered cape cushioning his fall as he impacted against the brick chimney. All was dark, the stars invisible behind the gray clouds that hovered above the city. He pulled a staff from a belt pocket and extended it, eyes straining in the dark as he sought his assailant. Red X jerked as he heard the whine of another bullet going for his thigh and deflected with a blow from his staff. His voice issued from behind the skull marked mask he wore, "You're not going to get me like that now that I know you're shooting at me. You should have got me on the first shot. Might as well come over." A paranoid silence grew, still and thick with waiting violence. X noticed a lithe figure stand up from the cover of a near by building, a rifle hanging loosely from its shoulder. It secured the weapon and took a running leap across the gap that separated the two buildings. He watched as the figure rolled to a graceful landing twenty feet from him. He didn't move, ignoring the pain of his wounded shoulder as his assailant emerged into the light.

She was slim and lithe of build, her muscles sliding over one another like a nest of placid serpents. A green and black body-glove covered most of her frame, the geometric pattern annihilating her silhouette in the gray shadows. Her face was covered by a tightly secured bandana. Blue eyes stared at him in interest, the pupils alive with waiting joy. What could be seen of her face was pale as snow, a surprising counterpart to the rich waterfall of silver hair that trailed to the small of her back. A sheathed katana kept the rifle company on her back, both weapons clearly well-crafted and lovingly cared for. Red X straightened and loosened his shoulders, while taking inventory of his arsenal.

He ventured into the silence, "You didn't shoot at me to say hello. Why the attack on my person? I'm just a thief."

She spoke for the first time, "Some people are interested in the toys you're carrying around. They hired me to get them back."

X smiled inside his helmet, "If you wanted to strip them from my corpse, you missed your chance at a clean kill."

The joy flared in her eyes, "Oh, the flesh wound? I didn't want to kill you, just get your attention, 'say hello' in the way I know best. Everything's much more fun at close range…"

X popped the spinning blades from the backs of his gloved hands and powered them up, "You're nuts. I'll put you out of my misery with some of the very 'toys' you came to claim from me." He ran at her, attacks, feints, and counter-attacks running through his mind. He lashed out with all his speed, determined to end this fight quickly. Somehow, she dodged and drew her sword, a gleaming weapon with inbuilt circuitry along its curved length. X dodged away as she swung and the weapon blazed with yellow fire. She anticipated his evasion and the weapon played along his ribs in a chorus of pain. Grunting, he lashed out with his off-hand, but she melted from the blow like he was moving in slow motion. She was a blur of green and black in the corner of his eye as the blade bit again, tearing a long gash in his suit. He threw a barrage of darts, forcing her back. He was stunned as she dodged without seeming to try, her blade picking every projectile out of the air.

X kept up the barrage and she talked without faltering in her defense, "I've had this fight in my head a hundred times and I've never lost. I must admit that this is so much better in real life though…" She darted forward and the blade sliced through the air. He leapt over the blade and a blow from her palm caught him in the chest.

The strike drove the air from his lungs and X rolled with the harsh landing, sides aching. She stood over him, blade hanging lazily in one hand, a radiant smile on her face. X growled in bitter anger, "Let's see how you like fighting what you can't see." He triggered his cloaking device, eager to show this challenger how he had earned his reputation. He lashed out with a bo staff. The woman dodged impossibly and the attack swept over her head. Hair flowing with the motion, she swung low and stuck high with her blazing sword, intrinsically knowing where he was despite his invisibility. Red X blocked with the staff and the two fought in silence again, sweating from the all-out effort. He was distracted by her face after a failed strike: her eyes were glowing an unholy crimson. The spectacle slowed him for only a second, but it was a second too long: her weapon sliced into his wounded shoulder. The pain was immense and he hung on her blade.

"I can See things in my head," she whispered, "Things that haven't happened yet, things that might happen… I have Seen you die and I liked it."

She pulled the blade out and he turned to run, willing to accept his inferiority to this nightmare woman and her gleaming blade if it saved his skin. He fired a grappling hook and swung off the building's edge. Reality seemed to blink as a bullet shattered the back of his knee and the pain made him drop into the alley below. He hit the ground hard and fought to rise to his feet. It felt like his joint was on fire and his other wounds screamed for attention. He got up in time to seen his assailant leap down, her hair a trailing banner of argent silver. He triggered an explosive, but before he could throw it, she darted by and slit the tendons of his wrist. He dropped the bomb and scrambled away as it left a smoking crater in the alley. She struck from behind and cut the hamstrings on his uninjured leg, dropping him as his injured legs failed to hold up his weight. He was fading out as she knelt in front of him, a smirk blazing on her face.

"Told ya I wouldn't lose," she chirped. He reached for a weapon, any weapon, but she caught his wrist and cleanly snapped it. Red X grimaced inside his mask and fell backwards, exhausted, limp, and half delirious with pain.

The woman smiled and bent over him, her sword returned to its sheath, before roughly flipping him over to remove his belt with its precious Xenthonium core. She shrugged and laid the belt over one shoulder before dragging him over to an alley wall and propping him up.

His eyes rolled in pain as the green-and-black clad assassin chatted merrily at him, "I will give you an A for effort. You did much better than I thought you would. But… You lost, so that means I win."

He spat, "You're a psycho; you know that? Real nutcase."

She shrugged, "You spend enough time in the future and you get a little nuts perhaps. Oh well."

Red X growled bitterly, "Why don't you kill me with that sword of yours instead of talking me to death. Do me a favor…" She stood up and pulled a cell phone from a hidden compartment in the rifle case before answering, "I'd love too. But business before pleasure, there are a lot of people who want you head and will pay for the privilege of killing you."

She dialed a number as he processed this information and shouted, "What?"

She ignored the question as she spoke to someone on the other end of the line, "Hello? This is Rose Wilson. Yeah, that Rose Wilson, the 'cute-ass assassin chick' as your thug referred to me. I do hope he recovers from that stab wound; I was trying to let him down gently… If you want the guy who nicked your boss's stuff I've got him in the alley of 18th and A."

She looked at Red X and gave him the once-over before continuing, "You might want to hurry. He's bleeding all over the place. Sorta resisted, had to shoot him a few times. Good. Just bring the money or I'll kill the little twerp myself." She held the phone away from her ear as someone yelled on the other end.

She chuckled and replied, "Hey! Just bring my money and you get you guy. No worries… Thanks. See you then."

Red X gaped at the disturbing spectacle before muttering rhetorically, "Who were you talking to?"

She winked and ran a hand through her thick curtain of silver hair, "Big Daddy Malcolm's chief enforcer. They offered the most money for your capture, quite a healthy amount. And that's on top of what I'm getting for delivering this baby."

She tapped the Xenthonium power core and reflected, "How'd you put it to the Titans? Oh, right. 'Looking out for number one'. Great quote." Red X lost consciousness as his ordeal finally got to him.

Rose Wilson looked vaguely disappointed, "I hate it when they faint." She climbed up a fire escape and waited for her clients to show up, sure that they would try to cheat her. Oh, well. She would have more fun with her sword if that was the case. Rose's silhouette faded into a collection of green and black patches as she slipped further into the shadows, her eyes gleaming in the dark with anticipation.

The Thursday afternoon sunlight lanced into Titans Tower through a massive window as Robin addressed his teammates, "Okay. We have a mystery on our hands, one that could be very bad by all signs." Starfire, Cyborg, and Beastboy watched their leader with varying degrees of attentiveness as he gestured at the massive screen set into the wall and pressed a remote. One quarter of the screen snapped on to show streaming footage of HIVE agents in action.

Robin continued, "One, HIVE has been very active lately, hitting two or three banks a weeks."

Terra's picture popped up to fill another quarter of the screen, "Two, Terra was taken from the hospital where she was being treated by HIVE's new headmaster, Brother Blood."

A snapshot of Raven's alter ego, Erinnyes Liche, popped up to fill another corner of the screen and Robin's voice dropped, "Raven volunteered to infiltrate HIVE academy…"

Cyborg muttered, "Using my invention…"

The boy wonder ignored the comment and continued, "…found out they were building something called a nuero-plasmic amplifier, super weapon of some kind, but was caught by Blood and barely escaped."

Beastboy cut in, "Yeah! And she's been moody ever since. She threw me twenty feet down the hall for asking if she wanted lunch." He rubbed his head as he was the target of a communal glare, Raven not being the most comfortable of subjects.

The changeling exclaimed, "What? She's locked herself in her room for three days and only come out to have tea and fruit at 1:30 in the morning. Sure, whatever Blood did to her was bad, but she should at least open up a… little?"

He trailed off as the glare finally beat down his defenses, "Right… Continue…"

Robin shook his head and pushed another button, popping a composite sketch of Blood up on the screen in the last corner, "Okay. We have these facts. What do we do with them? I want some ideas."

Cyborg frowned as he rested his chin in his palm, "I got nothing. This is making no sense. Why would Blood take Terra, why would he make a weapon that he wants me to use, and where did Slade go? The guy just went poof after Terra went down…"

Robin nodded tersely, "Exactly, and I have a feeling we don't have a lot of time to figure this out. If HIVE behaves in the way it has before, they're planning a response to our infiltration even as we speak…"

Energetic eighties rock music blared through the well-lit apartment. The furnishings reeked of massive amounts of tastefully spent money and a close observer could detect some of the best security available. Rose Wilson, casually dressed and her silver hair tied in a ponytail, pumped her arms as she went through her Saturday exercise routine. She hummed along to the music with her eyes closed as her feet danced, seemingly at random over the hardwood floor. A faint whir buzzed every few seconds as razor-sharp blades sank and rose sporadically from their grooves in the hardwood surface beneath her toes. Bare flesh found the two patches of safe floor every time, guided by a mind skimming along the skeins of fate with practiced ease. Rose was lost in the drill, flesh gleaming with sweat and absorbed in the beat of the music. This was the only time she felt truly alive, pitting her mind against fate and the world in a deadly test of skill, life balanced on the edge of a blade.

The phone rang and the mercenary frowned. "If it's important you'll leave message," she muttered as she kept up her pace.

The answering machine kicked in, "Rose? I know you're in. This is Tom Sloane, your agent if you recall… Well… I got a potential contract lined up for you and they want an answer ASAP. I'm not hanging up until you answer."

Rose sighed and called out, "End program…" The music cut out and the razors settled into dormancy as she made her way over to the phone.

She picked up the receiver, "You got me. Why are you bothering me on Saturday? I only got three hours of drill in thanks to your interruption…"

Rose rolled her eyes as Tom chattered at the other end, "Okay then. Time is of the essence. Give me the details."

A significant figure was mentioned, but she answered in a monotone, "That's a lot of money. I hope you background checked this time. I hate it when a client wants to double cross me before the job starts…"

She listened some more and doodled on a convenient piece of paper before perking up, "Oh. That HIVE. Never mind then, HIVE always has fun jobs for me. Their egos won't allow them to bring in an outsider unless they're really out of their weight class..."

She laughed at Tom's response, "Calm down. Of course, I remember that they almost got me killed last time. Almost is the key word. What's the target?" Her blue eyes sparkled as she jotted down purposeful notes: $200,000 a kill, Wednesday deadline, Jump City, metahuman team…

She smiled brightly as Tom finished his spiel and replied lightly, "You're always so on top of it in that way, Tom. I'll be waiting for those plane tickets in a few hours. See you after I get back from California…"

Her face twisted with anticipation as she hung up, "This is going to be fun. Those little Junior Justice Leaguers have given Daddy a drubbing or two in the past. I might break a sweat… It's been a while since I've done a group contract, should be interesting." Rose went to shower and get ready. After all, she had plane to catch.

Titans Tower was settling down for the night, security systems active and heroes finally falling asleep after a day full of good deeds. Beastboy had given up on beating Monkey Hunt 4: Attack of the Banana People. Robin had shrugged out of his uniform and lay limply on top of the covers. Starfire was sound asleep, head resting at the wrong end of her round bed. Cyborg was recharging for the night. Even Raven was resting, head turning with nightmare visions that twisted her face in distress as she harvested a few precious hours of sleep. Nothing moved in the Tower, a sense of all-pervading quiet engulfed the building in still expectancy. The island was not so quiet, the chorus of nocturnal life rustling with its typical chittering glee at the death of the sun. Waves beat against the rocks and bathed crabs in spurts of sea spray. All was right with the world, the soft glow of the gibbous moon turning everything silver.

Something changed. A dark silhouette pulled itself out of the water and onto the rocks. It double checked the twin bundles on its back and made its way toward the tower, passing from shadow to shadow without haste or hesitation. It paused suddenly as a camera rose from the ground and scanned the vicinity. The lithe figure froze until the camera sank into dormancy and went on. It threaded through cover, taking some paths and ignoring others, completely bypassing Cyborg's lovingly installed sensor grid. The Tower came steadily closer until the figure could see the main door. It back flipped onto the porch and its hands hovered over the keypad before striking in the code with confident swiftness. The door chimed and opened without a sound. The figure was inside the tower with a few steps and softly closed the door.

In the darkened lights of Titans Tower, Rose Wilson undid her hair from its bun and checked her weapons again. Her green-and-black bodyglove was still damp from her short swim to the island, but that couldn't be helped. She shook her head at the massive room and began to make her way to the stairs. Rose caught site of a large red button labeled, "Emergency Alarm." She mouthed the words and grinned brightly before smashing the button with her fist. Red lights flashed as a wall of noise echoed through the hall. Pleased with herself, the mercenary sat down on a chair as she waited for the Titans to show up. She undid the clasps on the cases containing her weapons and restlessly examined her fingers.

Four of the five Titans barreled into the room at full readiness despite the lateness of the hour. Robin paused as he caught sight of the assassin sitting calmly in the chair. "Okay. Who are you and what are you doing here?" Starfire and Cyborg aimed glowing limbs at Rose as a silent threat backing up their leader's question. Rose stretched languidly and got to her feet.

She presented her back to the Titans and called over her shoulder, "Just doing a job. I really was expecting the whole set to come barreling down here when I pressed that button. You four will have to do for now."

Beastboy tilted his head in confusion, "What job?"

Robin took in Rose's weapons and grimly intoned, "I have a feeling that we don't want you to complete this job successfully…"

"Oh, you're a smart one. But I suppose I shouldn't have expected anything less from the protégé of the legendary Batman." She laughed gently as the Titans exchanged glances, anger bubbling in their features.

Cyborg readied his sonic cannon and called out. "I don't know who you are, Lady, but if you mean what we think you mean then you are in for a world of pain." Starfire nodded agreement as her eyes flared green. Rose drew her sword and the Titans tensed.

Rose took a few practice swings and said, "At least you're confident. I liked it when they at least think they can win. Makes it more of an exercise."

Robin popped a pair of explosive disks into his fingers and replied, "I think you don't quite realize that we're tougher than we look."

Beastboy took the opportunity to add, "Yeah! You just a woman with a sword. It takes a little more than that to scare us." Rose turned to face the Titans and her eyes flashed red.

"My, my, make that very confident. If I'm so weak, come and get me." The Titans complied and a hail of energy bolts rained down on the assassin. She dodged to one side and then charged forward, her blade blazing with yellow fire.

One short, painful, and thoroughly embarrassing fight scene later, Cyborg slammed the second floor blast doors closed with his shoulder. His right arm was missing from below the elbow, cleaved off after a lucky hit from Rose's blade. The others were less overtly injured, but none of the Titans had escaped unscathed. Beastboy hugged his ribs, still groaning from a spinning kick that had connected soundly with his midsection. Robin tied a bandage over Starfire's arm, stanching the bleeding over a cut that traversed her bicep.

Beastboy looked up and demanded, "How did that happen? There were four of us, one of her, and we're the ones who get our butts kicked."

Cyborg piled in with. "You tell me. It's like we were standing still and she was dancing around us picking posies. The only person I've seen move like that was Red X and even he wasn't that good." Robin looked up in irritation, his ego bruised by the seemingly effortless defeat his team had just suffered.

He straightened and said, "I don't know, but the important thing right now is to keep her away from Raven. Raven is no condition to face someone like this."

Cyborg inspected his damaged arm, soldering shut leaks in the severed limb that dripped a mixture of blood and oil onto the carpet.

He looked up and asked, "Speaking of Raven, where is she? I figured she would have made her way downstairs with the rest of us."

Robin answered, "I turned off the alarm in her room. Let her get some sleep while she can." The other Titans looked askance at this comment.

Starfire replied, "Would not Raven be most upset when she discovers this change? She does not like being manipulated…" Cyborg and Beastboy nodded in agreement and the chagrinned Boy Wonder held up his hands to ward off their comments.

"Okay. It was something I should have talked to you guys about but I didn't count on psychopaths with swords breaking into the building at night." The others looked at one another and shrugged, the danger of their current situation overriding whatever objections they might have had about Robin's heavy-handedness.

The embryonic argument died stillborn when Rose's blade jammed its way through the door and began to carve an entrance. The glowing katana melted through the foot-thick steel door like a hot knife through butter. The Titans jumped back and readied their abilities, taking aim on the door.

Robin counted down on his fingers as he whispered, "On my signal. One, two, three…." The tripartite blast echoed down the hallway and sent the door reeling backwards to impact the floor with a dull bang. The Titans dashed into the hall beyond ready to take Rose down or offer medical assistance, depending on what they found. They paused in wary confusion as they realized that the hall was empty. Slow, sarcastic clapping echoed from behind them.

Rose stepped out from the shadows, her blade returned to its sheath and glibly said, "You get an 'A' for brute force, but an 'F" for subtlety." Rose dodged to one side as Robin dashed forward with his bo staff extended. She grabbed him by one arm and threw him back at his companions. Starfire was knocked from the air by her erstwhile commander's flying form.

Beastboy turned lime green and muttered, "No way. What's next? Are you going to walk on water?"

Rose shock her head, "Can't quite do that yet, but I do know…" She broke off and tilted her head to one side as a sonic blast ripped through the space where her face had been seconds before.

She continued, "…someone who can do that. I think you met him once…" Beastboy steeled his features and rushed in, the six ton bulk of a rhino shaking the hall as he closed. The assassin flipped up and over his charge, leaving the changeling to tumble into the next hall with a clamorous thud. The trio of other titans unleashed a hail of projectiles and forced her onto the defensive. She shimmied backwards amid the storm, eyes narrowed in focus. At such short range and at such close quarters, some shots inevitably began to get through her defense. Glancing hits were scored on her body and ripped her body glove. One of Robin's ice discs hurled at her and she stomped a piece of debris into its path. The debris was encased in ice and afforded a moment of protection. Rose spun and kicked it down the hall. Cyborg blew it into fragments, filling the air with haze. The assassin leaped forward, jammed her glowing blade through Cyborg's chest and levered over his shoulder to inflict more damage. She blocked Robin's roundhouse kick with an upraised arm and tore her blade free in time to force Starfire back with an arching swing of the glowing weapon.

The light glaring between the two females sparkled as their eyes met and Rose smirked. She ducked under a clumsy hammer blow that could have shattered her skull. Beastboy was rewarded for his miss when the hilt of the blade slammed into his currently gorillalike temple. The milieu broke up as Cyborg tumbled forward, batteries dying, Beastboy reeled back in pain, and Starfire recovered from her hasty dodge. Robin gestured the others back and swung with his bo staff.

A short duel followed, the clang of staff on sword punctuated by terse dialog, "You're tiring. You have to be."

"True, but you haven't hit me yet…" A wild swing left Robin open and Rose kicked his feet out from under him.

She murmured, "Duels are sloppy, I thought Batman would teach you better." He grimaced and rolled as her blade carved into the flooring with a flare of yellow sparks. A starbolt broke up the fight and prompted Rose to abandon her blade as she backflipped to the end of the hall.

Sweat ran down her face in rivulets, "We have a record. You made me drop my blade. A first."

Robin got to his feet, "That's not all you're going to drop."

Rose tilted her head and turned to face down the hall. A section of wall glowed black and Raven stepped through, staggering slightly in pain as she dragged her foot through the rapidly closing portal. Her eyes glared from the shadows of her hood at the assassin.

Raven intoned flatly, "Leave them alone." The energy to say this seemed to stagger the dark mystic as she swayed on uncertain feet. Rose flexed her fingers as the other Titans shot Raven concerned glances.

The assassin asked, "What are the odds I can snap her neck before you can stop me? Don't bother, let's find out…" Rose flipped and bounced off a wall as the Titans opened fire, dodging the barrage to land behind the dark mystic. She drove an elbow into Raven's back staggering her forward. As the half-daemon tumbled, Rose caught her in a choke hold, arms braced to crack her neck in an effortless twist of flesh on bone. The Titans froze and the assassin allowed the moment to stretch out. A feral grin lit up her face as she contemplated the situation. The moment passed and a sickening crack filled the air. Raven went limp as her head hung at an impossible angle.

Beast Boy stumbled in, worse for wear and summed up the scenario with his cry, "Raven!"

Rose continued to smile, "Guess metahumans are killable after all. One and a half down, three and a half to… What the..?" The corpse Rose held to her chest dissolved into black smoke that flowed toward an ebon portal that spiraled on the carpeting. Raven's blue-cloaked silhouette rose from this rift and the dark mystic hovered in the air as her teammates blinked in confusion.

Rose narrowed her eyes as Raven asked darkly, "Never heard of doppelgangers, have you?" She gestured and the assassin's abortive dodge ended as her body was caught in an aura of black energy. Raven slammed her against the ceiling before dragging her back into the floor with crushing force. The dark mystic's eyes flared as she kept Rose locked in her mental grip, propelling her victim down the hall toward a closed window. The glass fractured at the impact. Raven grunted as she released the hold and the assassin dropped to the ground.

Robin started out of his trance, "Titans Go!" Robin, Beastboy, and Starfire rushed toward Rose as she pushed herself upright and Raven sank to the ground mildly exhausted by her exertion. A hail of starbolts forced the green-and-black clad assassin to roll to one side. The window exploded under the bombardment. Her face twitched in pain when she put pressure on a twisted ankle. Her ribs ached.

Rose spared a glance for the window, anger blazing in the depths of her eyes, "I don't loose. I never run…" Beastboy and Robin piled into her, the pair forcing her to defend herself. Rose winced as she sent a roundhouse kick into the skull of an emerald cheetah clawing at her legs, inadvertently using her injured leg to clock the changeling in one precise hit. A counterstrike from Robin hit her in the chest and drove her backwards, a hail of blows following. Rose could See every strike coming, but her body wasn't quite up to the task of following her demands, blows smashing into her frame. The Boy Wonder went for an overhead swing; Rose blocked it, and left a gap in his defenses a mile wide. Rose's palm drove into his nose and snapped his head back.

This gave the assassin all the time she needed to dart to a trigger device hidden on her wrist. She pressed a button and whispered a code word, "Deadfall." Rose's sword hilt began to hum, the sound bleeding into a wail. Starfire let a gathering batch of starbolts fade into nothing as she searched for the source of the noise. Raven glanced at the sword and her eyes widened slightly as she pumped up a personal shield and the weapon's power core went critical. An echoing wall of noise and light flooded the hall and bounced off all the surfaces, drenching the Titans with acutely painful sensory overload. Rose had her eyes closed, but her ears were ringing. She hadn't been this badly beaten since her father had caught her playing with his weapons when she was eight years old… She staggered to the window; hand pressed to her head, silver hair darkened with sweat and blood, and bandana askew. Rose jumped out the window with frustrated growl and dove into the water surrounding the island. There was a splash and Rose was gone, driven off by her intended prey.

Starfire was the first to recover, her alien senses readjusting after the blast. She looked around at the ravaged hallway and her scattered friends as they pulled themselves to their feet. Cyborg remained slumped on the ground, his power core hard put to keep life support pumping into his organic remnants.

Star exclaimed, "Friends! Are you all unharmed? The intruder seems to be gone…" All the others heard was a loud buzzing, still deafened from the blast.

Robin looked at Starfire and said, "I can't hear you, Star. We should get Cyborg to the repair chamber and talk later."

Beastboy exclaimed, "Dude! I can't hear a word you're saying! Who knew animal senses could be a liability?"

Starfire paused in momentary confusion as Raven cut in, "Starfire, one question. Who turned off the alarm in my room so that I wasn't here as this fight got started?" Starfire simply pointed at Robin and the later went pale at the angry glare the dark mystic directed at him.

He asked, "What?" Raven promised herself that she would talk to Robin about this later, but now was not the time. She went to assist her teammates as they lifted up Cyborg and carried him to the repair chamber. Robin trailed behind as a cold breeze leaked in from the shattered window.

So you made it down here. I know that I haven't updated in forever and a day, but I had an idea for this Rose Wilson character interpetationand had to use her. What did you think? Good? Bad? Mary Sueish as heck? Leave a review if you see fit and tell me what you think. Thank you for your time and have a nice day… I'll be back in a month hopefully with the conclusion to this piece.


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